


End Of Time

by dametokillfor



Category: DC's Legends of Tomorrow (TV)
Genre: AU - Soulmates, ColdAtom Week 2017, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-01
Updated: 2017-06-01
Packaged: 2018-11-07 17:16:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,998
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11063538
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dametokillfor/pseuds/dametokillfor
Summary: He and Leonard are fooling around, right? Their relationship is nothing more than physical so I love you, marry me and let’s run away are all ridiculous.Ray never was good at denial.---xIn which there's Ray, there's Len and there's a something akin to a ticking time bomb.Written for ColdAtom Week 2017 day five, soulmates.





	End Of Time

**Author's Note:**

> This is for day five of ColdAtom Week 2017, for the prompt soulmates.
> 
> I have a lot of feelings about this, and I can't say many of them are positive at all. Alternate titles included *extended groaning noise*, and 'Christ, why didn't I skip soulmate day?'

 

**59:59**

 

The numbers flash up behind his eyes as he watches Snart fall to the floor, after punching him in Savage’s grand mansion. They’re there for a moment and then they’re gone, so Ray doesn’t really give them too much of a second thought.

 

**59:57**

 

Leonard first sees the numbers when he taps Raymond across the face in the gulag. He’s kind of in the middle of an extraction so he really doesn’t have time to think about them, or what the implications could be.

 

**52:42**

 

Rip insists they all start to learn how to fight, but Ray knows by ‘they’, Rip means him. Ray can handle himself well enough in the suit, and enough in a scrap, but they’re dealing with a whole different calibre of fighters.

 

He’s paired with Snart, ostensibly because they’re the most physically well matched, but he’s not completely sure Snart didn’t request this detail as an excuse to beat him senseless.

 

Snart is dressed in a dark t-shirt, and sweatpants. His arms are stronger than Ray would have thought, and there are marks that Ray knows better than to stare at.

 

“You sure you’re ready for this, Boy Scout?” Snart asks.

 

“It depends how hard you hit me.”

 

It sounded so much cooler in Ray’s head. Snart just stares at him, as if expecting a more intelligent comment forthcoming. When it becomes apparent nothing is, he rolls his eyes.

 

“So are we going to…” Ray starts when Snart’s fist comes straight for his head, connecting with a solid crack.

 

“Time for talking is over, Raymond.”

 

He throws another punch, and Ray manages to duck to the side, avoiding it, and throws a shot of his own at Snart’s ribs as he’s recovering. Snart grunts, and makes the mistake of lifting his head. Ray throws another punch in the direction of his pretty face, and Snart catches it, twisting the hand. There’s a knee to Ray’s stomach and he folds in on himself, winded.

 

Snart huffs a little laugh, and he’s going to regret that.

 

“Asshole.” Ray chokes.

 

“Criminal.” Snart clarifies.

 

Ray pulls himself up straight, and fuck, the smug look on Snart’s face is just enraging him. He takes a second to get himself together, before throwing himself at Snart again. He’s ready for it, Ray’s acting out of rage, and he’s sloppy.

 

Snart catches or dodges every punch that Ray throws, doesn’t need to fight back, just waits for Ray to tire himself out before he sweeps his leg, and Ray drops to the mat with a heavy thud.

 

As Snart looks down at him, Ray can see he’s barely broken a sweat. There’s a light sheen across his collarbones, but he’s breathing normally and he just looks satisfied.

 

Ray shakes his head, reaches out a hand, “Little help?”

 

Snart grabs his forearm, and pulls him to his feet. Snart’s hand feels like fire where it’s holding Ray’s arm, and Snart’s own arm feels like ice under his touch. There’s an intensity between them, a thick heat that wasn’t there before. Ray is consciously aware of the fact he’s staring at Snart, and Snart isn’t turning away. He’s struck with a crazy, sudden desire to kiss him.

 

Snart is the one who lets go first, dropping Ray’s arm like it’s burning him and pulls his own from Ray’s grip and the numbers flash behind his eyes again. Snart screws his own eyes shut, and shakes his head, before pulling himself back together and stepping back onto the mat.

 

“Again.”

 

**49:37, 47:02, 46:21, 44:43, 44:16**

 

The numbers keep coming as they keep sparring, both see them but neither mention them to the other. They both figure they’re not important, maybe Gideon is keeping count, or it’s something else Rip has done ‘just in case’.

 

Ray’s fighting technique improves as the time goes on, and he can hold his own against Snart. He’s no longer a human punching bag. He lands as many hits as he dodges, and he’s taken Snart down once or twice now. There’s still a weird intensity between them, a crackle of electricity whenever their skin brushes, but Ray puts it down to the adrenalin.

Ray is maybe developing a hint of a crush on Snart, but then he’s a gorgeous man. He’s been on top of Ray, sweating and panting, and Ray’s only human, his mind is bound to wander. He’s not going to let it get in the way of their work together.

 

**44:07**

 

Snart is partnered with him on a simple infiltration mission. They’re in, they’re out, they have the shiny tech slipped in their pocket, they kick Savage’s ass, everyone’s happy. Easy as pie.

 

Snart is a master thief, Ray can handle himself in a fight, they work well together in their makeshift gym. This is nothing.

 

They’re working on Earth-14, on a tip off from an alternate Rip Hunter. Apparently there was a piece of tech there that would enable them to track Vandal Savage precisely, and strike when he was at his weakest. If it was real, it would be an absolute coup and their mission could be over before it had even really begun.

 

Ray really should have known then.

 

Getting into the building is simple enough, Snart bypassing the security systems in seconds. There’s minimal security as they’re making their way up to the office that holds the tech they need. A few swift punches take the guards out, and even earn a nod of approval from Snart. It’s a little eerie how easy it is to get where they need to be, and Ray’s not entirely certain there isn’t some kind of hidden security that’s going to appear out of nowhere and bite them in the ass.

 

The door to the office they need tells Ray that the CEO of this company is a paranoid bastard. It’s heavy, metal, with no windows, and not even a door handle.

 

“Biometric security,” Snart announces, crouching in front of security panel to the left of the door, “Difficult, but not impossible.”

 

“You really should have been on hand in Kingsman.” Ray can’t resist saying, as he eyes the glowing pad. The handprint looks about the same size as his own, he holds his own hand up to hover over it, “Huh.”

 

“Raymond, _not_ the time.” Leonard hisses, as he pulls his tools from his jacket. He unrolls them, and one of them falls to the floor with a heavy clatter, making Ray jump and fall onto the security pad.

 

The glowing light passes under his handprint, and Leonard glares up at him, “I _will_ kill you if they don’t.”

 

Ray stays as still as he possibly can, hoping that by some miracle not moving will keep them both alive.

 

“Identity confirmed, good evening sir.” a computerised voice says.

 

The door unlatches and pops open slightly. Leonard and Ray share a look, before Ray pulls his hand quickly off the security pad. There’s no way this could possibly be a good thing.

 

They pull the door to the room open, and slink in and _oh God._ The room is half lab, with a large desk right at the back, and a large painting above it. A large painting of a particularly harsh looking Ray Palmer, dressed in a grey pinstripe suit.

 

“Snart, please tell me you can see that too.” Ray says, a little nervously.

 

“Unfortunately.”

 

“Good. Okay. I’m not completely insane.”

 

“We need to find the tech, and get out. I don’t want to stick around to find out when you became Kingpin.”

 

Ray wants to make a comment about having too much hair, but he’s too busy with the experiments laid out on the tables. There’s another miniaturised suit on one of the stands, in opposite colours to his own and with something that looks a little like lightsaber handles in holsters attached to the leg.

 

“ _Raymond._ ” Snart hisses.

 

“What happened to ‘ _Raymond you don’t break into a candy store and steal just one gumball?_ ’”

 

Snart glares at him, and okay, maybe the Savage finding doohickey is more important right now. (And Ray really wishes they had a name for the item in question, tech is so nonspecific and doohickey is just… it’s not good).

 

They’ve been given a vague description of what they’re looking for, it looks a little like an old school Star Trek tricorder, silver and grey, boxy, fairly nondescript. It’s something nobody would look at twice, which is probably why it’s so damn hard to find in a room littered with shiny things - and is that a cold gun? Why would Ray 9000 need a cold gun?

 

“Got it.” Snart announces, holding up a clunky, very un-Palmer tech item with a label ‘prototype 4679’ attached to it.

 

No sooner has he snatched it up than the door of the office clunks back into place. The room is bathed in bright blue light, and a loud, modulated sounding voice comes through the speakers, “Identify yourself.”

 

Snart jabs a finger at him, “Don’t you dare.”

 

“Leonard Snart-Palmer. Positive identification. Have a nice evening, sir.”

 

The lights shut off, the door reopens and both Snart and Ray are left staring at each other. Ray opens his mouth to speak.

 

“Not talking about this Raymond.”

 

“I was just going to say I have a brother, you two would probably get along…”

 

“This is not not talking about it.” Snart replies, “We need to go.”

 

The way out is a lot easier, now the pair of them know they can move around relatively freely. The security guards that Ray hasn’t knocked out nod as they pass, and they get back to the Waverider without a fuss.

 

It turns out - after Snart has thrown a punch at Rip for lying to them - that the tech itself is useless. Palmer-14 had been as big of a nerd as Palmer-1 was and prototype 4679 was in fact a cosplay item that he had made in his teens. Rip-14 was an asshole. _Obviously_.

 

As the team go their separate ways to regroup, Snart stops Ray with a hand on his shoulder. For a moment he thinks they’re going to have a heart to heart about the Snart-Palmer thing, before Snart presses something into his hand, holding it there for a moment.

 

“Your gumball.”

 

He lets go of Ray’s hand, and the numbers flash again. Ray watches him leave, before opening his hand. The prototype ATOM suit from the lab, complete with the batons. Ray unclips one of them and pushes the tiny button, and a small light blade pops out of each end.

 

He thinks he’ll make Leonard’s blue.

 

**43:40**

 

He really should have known one of these days that their sparring, Raymond’s heaving chest, sweat slick hair and his goddamn megawatt smile when he won would lead to this.

 

The numbers flash behind his eyes as Leonard pulls back, and his lips are tingling pleasantly. He really should start investigating what the numbers could mean, but now he’s tasted him, all he wants to do is kiss the idiot again.

 

**29:26**

 

The numbers are getting lower, and he and Leonard are getting closer. Stolen kisses in corridors, hurried rutting and rushed handjobs in their rooms on the ship, always with the same electricity. Ray thinks it could all be related, the numbers, the passion, the tingle. His working theory is that they’re counting down to something they’ll share together, but everything Ray can come up with is ridiculous.

 

He and Leonard are fooling around, right? Their relationship is nothing more than physical so _I love you, marry me_ and _let’s run away_ are all ridiculous.

 

Ray never was good at denial.

 

**21:01**

 

They’re laid together in Leonard’s room, during one of the rare slow days on the ship. They’re all enjoying a little down time. Raymond is nuzzling at his neck, and his hand is stroking slow circles across his t-shirt. It’s far too _nice._

 

He wouldn’t change it for the world.

 

Which is naturally when Gideon pipes up and all hell breaks loose.

 

\---

 

Mick is marooned.

 

Len is heartbroken.

 

Ray is trapped in the 50’s.

 

Mick is back.

 

Ray is saved.

 

The numbers are unimportant.

 

\---

 

**0:07**

 

Leonard wanted to take his time, to pull Raymond apart and put him back together and completely ruin him. He wanted to trace every line of his body with his lips, and his tongue, and feel the sparks as he writes _I love you_ across every inch of his skin with his fingers. Instead it’s hurried and rough against the wall of Raymond’s room as soon as they can convince Kendra to leave them alone.

 

Raymond slams Leonard against the wall, and kisses him like a starving man. Leonard tries to push him back, but Raymond growls _two years, Leonard,_ and he can’t argue with that.

 

Besides this Raymond? Ridiculously sexy.

 

Pants are pushed to knees and spit slick fingers are pressed into Leonard, and _oh God,_ Raymond knows just what buttons to push and the _sparks_ . He’s laughing against Leonard’s lips, and Leonard _isn’t_ charmed, “Fuck, you’re so tight, Lenny.”

 

Leonard should probably punch him in the face, but _fuck._ Pretty boy has some talented fingers.

 

“Raymond, _please_ -”

 

And _oh._

 

It’s not gentle, but somehow it’s perfect. Really it fits them so much better than something slow and tender, all romance, candles and blushing virgins. Snart might be completely head over heels for Ray, but he’s still an asshole.

 

Ray’s head is pressed against Leonard’s forehead, and he’s making the softest goddamn noises. Leonard’s legs are wrapped around him, and Ray has him held tight as he fucks deep into him.

 

“Fuck, Raymond. _Ray -”_

 

Ray comes first, a shuddering climax punctuated with a cry of _Lenny_ because he seems really confident Leonard isn’t going to fucking punch him, and _God_ , it does sound hot coming from his mouth.

 

Ray’s head rests in Leonard’s neck, and he presses kisses along his shoulder, as he slips himself free. No sooner have Leonard’s feet hit the ground, than Ray drops to his knees and takes his dick in his mouth.

 

Goddamn, Raymond doesn’t do shit by halves. Leonard was close as it was, but Ray’s perfect mouth sends him over the edge with little more than a flick of the tongue, and rough fingers slipping across his shaft.

 

Leonard comes with a grunt, a soft cry of Ray’s name and _fuck_ , Raymond is milking him dry.

 

The numbers flash behind his eyes as he comes down from his high, and Raymond drops back onto his ass on the floor.

 

“Fuck.”

 

“Just did.” Ray quips, “I didn’t… hurt you, did I?”

 

Leonard shakes his head, “Made of stronger stuff, Raymond.”

 

Leonard holds out a hand to pull him to his feet, and takes the opportunity to pull him forward into another kiss. They’re both laughing softly into the kiss, and goddamnit, he’s so fucking happy right now.

 

Another short flash of numbers and fuck, he has to ask, “You see them too, don’t you?”

 

“Yeah.”

 

“Any idea?”

 

“None.”

 

“You gonna take me to bed?”

 

“Thought you’d never ask.”

 

They don’t make it more than three steps before the sirens sound again.

 

**00:00**

 

The Time Masters are assholes. That’s pretty much all Leonard has got from this entire mission. The Time Masters are assholes, and Ray Palmer is a fucking angel.

 

Oh, and his soulmate.

 

They figured it out while researching the Time Masters, another fun trick they decided to play on the world. Some people are fated to meet, fated to fall in love, and cursed to only share an hour of skin to skin contact. Their numbers count down every moment their skin touches, and when they hit zero? Well, there are no paired mates left to ask.

 

And Ray and Leonard have squandered nearly half of their time with fucking fights, and Leonard wishes he could go back and spend every goddamn second tasting every single inch of Ray’s skin.

 

Instead he’s shoulder deep in a goddamn futuristic crystal ball, holding down a killswitch that will destroy the damn thing, and really fuck the Time Bastards over. Unfortunately it’s also going to fuck Leonard over, and really, he’s okay with that.

 

“There has to be another way.” Ray screams at him, over the din, “I’m not giving you up.”

 

Raymond isn’t.

 

“ _Lenny_.”

 

“Pretty certain I still owe you a punch for that.” Leonard says, with a half smile.

 

Leonard’s made his decision. It’s a goddamn shitty decision, but he’s not letting anyone else give themselves up for these assholes.

 

“I’m pretty certain you still owe me seven seconds.” Ray’s voice is broken, desperate, as if the time will make any difference the Leonard’s choice.

 

Leonard huffs a sad laugh, “I could probably make a punch last seven seconds.”

 

“No chance.” Ray reaches up and cups Leonard’s head, pulls him into a final kiss.

Leonard can feel the tears coming from Ray - they’re definitely not from him - and can see the seconds counting down behind his eyes. The seconds are counting down too fast, seven seconds is nothing when it’s the last time you’ll kiss your soulmate.

 

The timer hits zero, and the pain is like nothing Leonard has ever felt before. His skin is on fire, his body feels like it’s trying to tear itself apart, and _fuck_. He pushes Ray back, just enough that there’s no skin to skin contact, and even this is too much.

 

“Go.”

 

“Leonard.”

 

“ _Raymond._ ”

 

Ray nods, and pulls himself free from Leonard, “I love you.”

 

Leonard just smiles. He doesn’t watch as Ray leaves him, doesn’t know if he’d have the strength to stay behind if he saw him again.

 

He closes his eyes, and waits…

 

**\--:--**

 

He’s not dead.

 

And his numbers are back. They’re erratic, scrolling through thousands of different sequences, counting up and down through every four digit number he could possibly think of.

 

Well, this is interesting.

**Author's Note:**

> Come scream at me on [Tumblr](http://damnstevens.tumblr.com).


End file.
